The Charlotte, N.C.-based Premier Healthcare Alliance, a collection of 2,900 U.S. community hospitals and 100,000 alternate sites of care which has historically provided group purchasing services, has filed for an initial public offering (IPO), the company announced in a public statement.

According to SEC documents, the IPO was filed for up to $100 million in common stock. The number of shares to be offered and the price range for the offering have not yet been determined. A spokesperson from Premier referred Healthcare Informatics to the press release and S-1 form, which has the official application.

Premier is an outspoken advocate for hospitals and healthcare providers in the realm of quality improvement. In March, the company revealed the results of its data driven, quality improvement initiative, the QUEST program, which saved 92,000 lives and $9.1 billion over the past five years.  In April, Premier announced its partnership with Phytel, a Dallas, Tx.-based health IT vendor, to automate population health services, helping health systems deliver safer and lower-cost care across the continuum.At least 850 U.S. hospital members participate in at least one of its performance improvement collaboratives, Premier says.

The alliance, which is owned 181 U.S. hospitals, health systems and other healthcare organizations, generated net revenue of $869.3 million and net income of $375.1 million for the fiscal year, 2013, according to the S-1 form.

Healthcare Informatics will have more on this story as it develops.